IQNA

TEHRAN (IQNA) – A member of the Palestinian National Council described armed resistance as the Palestinian nation’s natural right.

Speaking to IQNA, Fathi Abu al-Ardat added that it is also a strategic option for Palestinians to counter Israeli plots such as construction of new Zionist settlements.

Armed resistance is acceptable under international laws and regulations, he stressed.

Al-Ardat said that while the world recognizes the rightfulness of Palestinian resistance against occupation, this resistance needs to be coupled with power, which can only be achieved through unity.

“Today, we are facing an enemy that is equipped with (advanced) US-made weapons. Thus, we should choose the way want to manage our resistance based on the current reality.”

Asked about US President Donald Trump’s recent decision to declare Quds (Jerusalem) as the capital of Israel, the Palestinian political figure likened the move to Britain’s Balfour Declaration that led to the creation of the fake Israeli regime.

“(Like Britain in 1917), he (Trump) is trying to give something that does not belong to him to one that does not deserve it,” he said.

“We will never recognize Trump’s decision on Quds and consider it null and void because it totally lacks legitimacy and is unjustifiable.”

He said the people of Palestine should move toward unity and abandoning divisions and differences in order to stand up against the decision.

Al-Ardat also called on Arab and Muslim countries and other friendly nations to back Palestine in their bid to defend Holy Quds.

The US president officially declared Quds as the capital of Israel in late 2017, despite warnings from around the world that the measure risks triggering a fresh wave of violence in the Middle East.

In a speech at the White House on December 6, Trump said his administration would also begin a years-long process of moving the American embassy in Tel Aviv to the holy city.

The announcement was a major shift by Washington that overturns decades of US foreign policy.

Palestinian leaders had previously warned the move would threaten a two-state solution.

Israel has occupied East Quds since the 1967 Middle East war. It annexed the area in 1980 and sees it as its exclusive domain. Under international law, the area is considered to be occupied territory.